IBI Update: Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva, Switzerland

Among being the home of the Red Cross and neutrality, Switzerland is a very wealthy, and thus, expensive country. Our spending money didn't go far and our accommodations were the most "scary hostel" (though really a college dorm) of the program thus far. One plus, we finally did some laundry and reveled in clothing that wasn't suitcase smelling. Oversll, Geneva was a very nice city to visit, albeit one of our shortest and packed as well. We had two visits, the WTO and Nestle, and a day trip to Chamonix thrown in to a three day stay. I also realized how nice it was to recognize some of the language. My years in high school and college French classes are still paying off when I can say four phrases and read signs. But for real, it's nice to know the panguage a little bit.

The city of Geneva is situated on Lake Geneva so there's a beautiful view along the water. They have their famous massive fountain which is only sometimes on (we only saw it once, from a distance). Across the street from the lake is Prada and other stores too expensive to actually shop at. Their old town is on-point and, during our stay in the city, there was a music festival happening so there were lots of people out and 6-7 stages set up. We hit up the festival two of our three nights there catching a DJ mixing his own beats, a French-speaking rapper, along with a number of mediocre acts. The festival was situated around the Reformation Wall area/park. It was a cool experience, attending something we would attend if living in Europe but not necessarily a purely tourist thing.

Vevey, France

On a corporate visit to the Nestle headquarters, we drove to nearby Vevey, France. Wedged between hills of vineyards and Lake Geneva / the French Alps, Vevey was incredibly picturesque. We only had a few hours there but it was stunning and Nestle's corporate offices would probably be a contender for the most beautiful place to work in the corporate world.

Chamonix, France

We took a day trip to this little mountain town because, well, Mont Blanc. The city was cute and had plenty of shopping and eateries but we were pretty stoked to take a cable car to one of the peaks. As has been the case for much of our time in mountains, there were clouds obstructing our view of anything. But it was still crazy scaling the cliffs and standing on a little structure built on a rock wall. I'm realizing that I'm now more afraid of heights than in my youth (I should be a dad) but it was cool to say we went to the top. There were a bunch of people parasailing and climbing the snow-covered mountain ridges, but we stayed safely on cable-cars and coach buses.

Up next: Paris, France.

IBI Update: Innsbruck, Austria

Innsbruck, Austria

Innsbruck has a quaint feeling to it. It's located among Austria's Alps with the mountains always visible except when exploring the pastel painted old town buildings along the Inn river. Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and '76 and we actually stayed at an Olympic training facility sandwiched between a stadium and practice fields and rinks. A ski ramp was visible from our room. Not bad. Except for the wi-if and the one drunk woman who hassled us on our last night.

The fist half of our stay in Innsbruck was dominated by Jorje getting violently ill. Whether it was a 24 hour bug or food poisoning, it was pretty awful. But we had time to stay in bed for a day and I appreciated the rest and Jorje was grateful it didn't hit while riding the coach bus. Then a student got similarly sick and another student thought he might have broken his foot playing soccer. So we took a little field trip to the hospital and everyone turned out to be ok, just needed liquids and ice, respectively. Also, the students payed hardly anything for the excellent medical attention. Socialized health care!

Jorje and I were able to explore the town a little bit but it was pretty rainy throughout. We took a cable car to the top of a mountain and saw nothing. But the town was pretty and had a Northern Europe vibe to it that I was all about.

Our one corporate visit was to Swarovski to visit Crystal World, the equivalent of Hershey World in PA or Coke's museum in Atlanta. EXCEPT IT WAS A MILLION TIMES COOLER. Crystal World had fifteen or so exhibits indoors that out-do almost any modern art museum I've visited. Everything from dancing animatronic legs to crystal installations to great use of neon. Then the park portion had a five-story playground (inclusive of adults), a cluster of crystal trees over a reflecting pool, and a garden maze. All this was surrounded by mountains and you should go as soon as you can.

Next up: Geneva, Switzerland.

IBI Update: Prague, Czech Republic

Prague, Czech Republic

As usual, I've got a bunch of other Prague posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook with the #InterHATionalSummer hashtag.

I've heard from a number of people just how cool Prague is. It has a bunch of cultural significance being the home of Franz Kafka, influential cubist artists, and a thriving music scene to this day. It's a city that survived WWII and came out of communism with buildings intact and an economy and culture ready to engage in the developed world. The city fulfills every European fantasy as far as cobble stone streets and beautiful architecture but then also has a weird, off-kilter edge that satisfied my modern self as well. From a visitors standpoint, the city revolves around the river and the Charles Bridge (pictured above). The winding city streets are confusing but add to the charm of exploring the city; while we may have walked in circles a couple times, we also found a few uncharted streets each time we ventured into town. 

As for our visit, we were staying on the north side of the city, up on a hill near a castle and monastery. We were easily able to take a tram in and out of town which was helpful because my skinny leg muscles about died after footing the trek back the few times we did. The whole group received a tour of the city and the students visited nearby Stanley Black & Decker and heard from a marketing exec. during our stay. It was a full week but Jojette and I are still very much enjoying our time with the students. Prague did provide us with our first trip to the hospital for a student visit but all is well and antibiotics were acquired.

Jorjette and I owned the town on our free days, walking some crazy amount of steps (a FitBit counter would have been good for walk-bragging). The daily struggle is staying hydrated for all the walking without drinking too much because you never know when you'll find a bathroom and who even knows if they'll have change for your cash. Anyhow, we hit up one of the National Museums (New Building with exhibits on Death and Noah's Ark), the Grand Orient Cafe (the first cubist building), the Museum of Modern Art,

 took pictures in front of the John Lennon graffiti wall, climbed the Starom Radnice tower and Petrim Observation Tower, and fit in lots of strolling - or in Jorjette's case, power-walking - the streets. 

There were a few areas that were given over to tourists but many of the streets were just authentically wonderful and perfect for exploring. Due to its location in Central Europe, the city wasn't too expensive and the people were friendly. I loved Prague. You should go. Or I'll go again or whatever. 

Up next: Innsbruck, Austria.

IBI Update: Heidelberg, Germany

It's my intention to post once for each city we visit on this summer's two month long trek around the world with business students from Messiah College and other various CCCU schools. I'm slow to post on our first stop but hope to get into the swing of things soon. Also, sorry for the mundane nature of these blogs; I'll try to liven them up as much as possible but no promises. 

Heidelberg, Germany

For live pics and snarky comments, check Instagram and Twitter. And Facebook will house full photo albums.

For those unaware, Heidelberg is a medium sized city located in a valley alongside a river. It's known for the overlooking crumbling castle, old town area, and it's plethora of universities - most notably Heidelberg University, the oldest in Germany.

While I believe the city gets a lot of visitors from the neighboring countries and is home to many college students, I don't think it is necessarily a destination for many from outside the country (besides us, of course). Jorjette and I explored the old town a number of times, toured the castle along with the students, and obviously made it to their zoo but otherwise we mostly spent our time adjusting to European life.

European (and city) life includes but is not limited to:

• Lots of walking. 
• Paying for bathrooms.
• Paying for water.
• Drinking better coffee. 
• Eating ice cream every other night.

While the city was very pretty, it was also very hot. Deterred by the heat, we spent multiple mornings in bed adjusting to the time change and avoiding the heat. That said, most of our time revolved around finding places to eat. Due to the college crowd and number of tourists, there were many options in addition to the traditional German though we did get schnitzel and bratwurst in order to not get harrassed by others. One last thought on Heidelberg: it is a very dog friendly place. If you would like to vacation with your dog, Heidelberg approves. There were dogs everywhere and Jorjette was happy. 

As for our students and role as program coordinators, we have a fantastic group of 41 students. No major issues as of yet though a few "free-spirits" that are fun to round up when on tours. In Germany, we had one corporate visit to Deutsche Bank but otherwise we have devotions in the mornings, the days to ourselves and hold nightly check-ins with the students to verify they are alive. We've got a pretty good gig on our hands.

We're still going strong and excited for what's to come. Prague update next!

Summer Travels

Setting the Stage
The semester has ended, students are gone, loose ends are being tied up, and I can now start to throw some mental energy forward to the summer. Jorjette and I are going on a little trip around the world, accompanying business students from Messiah College and a few other CCCU schools on a program called the International Business Institute. Forty-one students in total, one director, rotating visiting professors, and Jorjette and I filling in for the "program coordinator" positions, meaning we'll be in charge of checking students in at night, assisting the director in various administrative duties, and making sure everyone stays alive. Most importantly, we have the chance to spend some time with some adventurous students and travel the world. Because everyone loves lists these days, here are a few as it relates to the summer travels.

Cities/Countries to be Visited
We travel all over. By plane, bus, and ferry. Here's the rundown.

• Heidelberg, Germany
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Innsbruck, Austria
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Paris, France
• Rotterdam, Netherlands
• London, England
• Chennai, India
• Delhi, India
• Shanghai, China
• Dalian, China
• Beijing, China

Media
I've spent more time thinking about media than the cities we visit. Obviously, I need to do some research on where I'm traveling to but summer is my time to get my read on. Anyhow, I'll listen to a bunch of music and watch a lot of movies on planes. But here are the books/audiobooks* and Podcasts I've got lined up. And I definitely won't finish the list.

Books

• Praying Drunk by Kyle Minor
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (ha)
• Yes Please by Amy Poehler [audiobook]
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova [audiobook]
• Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang [audiobook]
• And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini [audiobook]
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown [audiobook]
• Lila by Marilynne Robinson [audiobook]

Podcasts

• All Songs Considered
• Pitch
• Pop Culture Happy Hour
• TEDTalks
• This American Life

Miscellaneous Anecdotes

• Start date: June 1st
• Suitcase weight limit: 44 lbs.
• Packing for: business professional, business casual, casual, travel wear, cold Alps, hot Indian beaches, etc.
• Devices: iPhone 5s, classic iPod, iPad, external hard drive, old-school Kindle, Bose headphones
• Travel accessories purchased thus far: sink plug, clothesline, international outlet adapter, inflatable neck pillow, headphone splitter, packing cubes, remote charger
• Medication taken: typhoid, malaria, hep A/B, travel nausea, and any/everything else
• Number of cats traveling with us: zero
• Most excited about: Prague
• Plan to update: Twitter, Instagram, this blog (?), 
• Hashtag: #?????????? #InterHATionalSummer
• Return date: July 31st

Cool. That's all. Let me know if you have travel advice.

*How does everyone feel about audiobooks? I'm generally in favor when it comes to memoirs or other books that rely on personal story-telling. I haven't ventured into the world of non-fiction or more complex narrative. But the audiobook allure is strong to work through some books while taking a bus through the mountains without getting sick by reading.

Best Movies of 2014

Here we are, two weeks into 2015 yet the movies of 2014 are under scrutiny. Throughout the year, there's been a steady stream of good, solid movies released - and I would contend that there was a higher quantity than the previous few years. I'm still unsure on how many classics we have on our hands though I said the same thing in introducing my list of last year's Best Movies of 2013 and I would now count Her, Gravity, and 12 Years a Slave as classics. So who knows, maybe a few months is all it takes for a movie to be solidified in my brain as somehow timeless or relevant beyond the two hours it takes to watch the movie.

As I looked over my list of movies for the year, I had plenty of thoughts but I would like to mention three themes that came up this year. The first is the use of time. From the quiet moments touched on over a twelve year span in Boyhood to the life-altering car ride in Locke to the video game level of lives found in Edge of Tomorrow (a.k.a. Live. Die. Repeat.) to the use of time-travel in Interstellar, it seemed as though movie producers were all about compressing, expanding, repeating or traveling through time in this year's movies. Gone Girl structured itself in a dichotomous before/after the crime. Oh, and Ida and Finding Vivian Maier were two movies fascinated with uncovering the long ago past in personal and moving ways.

The second very prominent theme I noticed was the use of doubles. Not your usual stunt double or use of a mask (a la Mission Impossible 2) but rather plots revolved around main characters interacting with alternate versions of themselves. Examples include The Double, Enemy, and The One I Love. And, if you're into Lifetime-like movies, The Face I Love. These are all indie-leaning movies but, none-the-less, an interesting quirk in this year's releases.

Finally, some of this year's best movies created a sense of unease that rival any horror movie (though none fit the traditional horror genre). Gone Girl used the unease to manipulate the viewer's perspective on the marriage. Nightcrawler's Lou Bloom is off from the beginning though you can't help but see some of his rationale ringing true. Whiplash created an emotional unease that left me asking more questions than answers. And, well, Foxcatcher had my heart pounding from start to finish.

I have plenty more to say about the year in movies but we'll get to the list. As with last year, I've included an Honorable Mention and a Highly Anticipated list with the latter certainly containing a few titles that could be added to my Top Ten or HM (lists... an imperfect system despite my addiction to them).

10. The Grand Budapest Hotel
While TGBH maintained Wes Anderson's aesthetic, complete with intricately detailed sets, quirky costumes, and dialogue that follows suit, the movie felt, perhaps, set apart from the rest of Anderson's left-field emotional hipster-family dramas. Even more distinct than his stop-motion, Fantastic Mr. Fox. That said, the adventurousness and crime/whodunnit? plot was pure fun.

9. The One I Love
I'm not certain what genre this one falls into. The rom-com(?), comedy(?), sci-fi(?) explores the relationship between the lead couple, played wonderfully by Elizabeth Moss and Mark Duplass, as they encounter the ideal version of their spouse. Would we rather be with the one that caters to our needs? Or do we have it in us to allow our spouse to be their own person, even if it's the harder path? While I enjoyed the relationship exploration, the movie was a lot of fun to follow as well. Well done.

8. Ida
Perhaps the most beautiful movie of the year, Ida tells the story of a young woman in 1960's Poland who is about to become a nun. As she prepares to take her vows, she learns about her past and embarks on an exploration of her past, discovering more about her heritage and, ultimately, herself. With understated performances and purely cinematic shots, Ida was a wonderful surprise.

7. Foxcatcher

In a year full of stories of unease, Foxcatcher takes the cake. Based on the true story of wrestling gold-medal winning brothers Mark and Dave Schultz and their sponsorship by billionaire tycoon, John du Pont, this slow burner had me on edge from the first scene. Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Channing Tatum give Oscar-worthy performances, communicating as much with the facial expressions and physical nature as with their words. I just loved this exploration of brotherhood, power, and the desire for affirmation.

6. Whiplash
What does it take to become great? Does the process mean there's a disregard for the self or loved ones? Should the coaching push someone beyond their limits or be supportive and nurturing? These are some of the grounding questions of Whiplash and it's a fascinating idea to think about. It's also a movie made with expert, jazz-like precision. The edits are fast and feel spontaneous at times. The emotions move up or down on a dime. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons give impeccable performances as protege and mentor respectively.

5. Nightcrawler
I'm currently reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death but he has another book called, How to Watch TV News, that I imagine would be Postman's idea of the full degradation of TV news and its production. Jake Gyllenhaal gives an incredible 30 pound lighter performance of an amateur freelance camera man for a local news company with a singular focus: that of succeeding at what he does with no regard for others. He preys on the tragedies of others and in doing so, the largest critique the movie makes, succeeds because the viewers eat up his film. If having a conversation about what we watch on the news, or TV and movies in general, this movie is a must.

4. Boyhood
Oh Linklater. Such commitment to an idea. I intentionally watched Boyhood in a theater because I knew it would be a long rumination on boyhood. I was right in that there wasn't a ton of action or plot advancement. The "boy" of Boyhood definitely had some significant events in his life: a string of fathers (and father-figures), a brief encounter with domestic abuse, the usual adolescent moments of uncertainty and mistake making. What sets this movie apart, besides the fact that it was filmed over the course of 12 years with the same cast, is that it never really resolves any of the set-ups. There are a lot of speeches about what it means to "grow up" but none are really satisfactory. In the end, his family is still there but everything isn't solved; life continues despite our inherent desire for a resolution come adulthood. Boyhood is a landmark in film-making.

3. Birdman
Vocationally, why do we do what we do? Do we aim for success? Pure love of our field? To simply survive? What does it even mean to be successful? In the entertainment industry, does it mean having a particular quota of followers on Twitter? Birdman asks many of these questions. But it's also not a "discussion movie," only good for the questions it asks. The script is airtight, Edward Norton is fantastic, and the cinematography alone is worth the price of admission.

2. Interstellar
I've been thrilled with pretty much every Christopher Nolan movie. His blockbusters over the last 6 or 7 years have been what Hollywood movies can be. In an era where Transformer movies keep getting made or great works of fiction like The Hobbit are turned into pure CGI warfare for 2+ hours, Nolan has a penchant for creating smart action movies with moderately complex characters that buck the trend of the day. When I saw McConaughey and Chastain's involvement and the visuals included in the trailer, I was definitely hooked. I was delighted to leave the movie with as many questions as when I watched Inception or Memento. The movie was filled with pure wonder at the complexities of the universe and while I would personally point more towards a creator of said universe, the majesty remained.

1. Gone Girl
This movie had a lot going for it: The incomparable Fincher directing and Reznor scoring. A fantastic source book with original author penning the script. And a solid cast (my distaste for Ben Affleck was somehow superseded by his perfect casting as Nick). No surprise, I had high hopes going into this movie. The book is hands-down the best "page-turner" I've read in the last few years. What made the book such a thrill to read was the constant second-guessing of Nick's innocence that slowly turns into a modern, twisted take on relationships. What the movie does so well is maintain the sense of fascination with the crime while slowly allowing the unease over the crime to turn into unease over the relationship. While the movie allows Nick off the hook a little more than the book (something I wished against), both Amy and Nick are guilty parties in terms of their relationship. The conclusion of the movie leaves the viewer with dropped-jaws and many questions. Isn't that what all good movies should do?


Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)
Big Eyes, Calvary, Chef, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Fault in Our Stars, Finding Vivian Maier, Guardians of the Galaxy, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, The Imitation Game, The Lego Movie, Locke, A Most Wanted Man, Noah, Obvious Child, Pride, The Skeleton Twins, Snowpiercer, The Theory of Everything, They Came Together

Highly Anticipated (in alphabetical order, movies in bold have since made the above lists)
American Sniper, Citizenfour, Dear White People, Inherent Vice, Life Itself, Listen Up Philip, A Most Violent Year, Selma, Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Top Five

Best Albums of 2014 (Albums 10-1)

My music-loving friends and I had many a conversation this year in regards to how it was a "slow year." It seems we all kept waiting for that life-changing album to surprise us and, while there were some solid albums released, the life-changer never arrived. Certainly the top few will withstand the test of time despite the bands' freshness and certainly the releases from tried and true artists (Spoon, Beck, and The New Pornographers) will be stand outs in their large catalogs.

But I suppose that's how music releases go; we can't always have as heavy hitting a year as 2013. So why make a list on a slower year? Or, why make lists of music releases at all? Well, I mostly view it as a way to celebrate and share the creative outputs of the last year even if ranking them is a flawed system.

It should be noted that the top spot was a fairly easy pick for me this year. And I included the late 2013 releases by Beyonce (a surprise release) and Childish Gambino. I don't like "breaking the rules" but they were top listens in 2014 so I'm going to do what I want. All qualifiers out of the way, enjoy my list of my favorite 20 albums from 2014!

Albums 20-11 can be found here.

10. Phantogram - Voices
I will easily give Phantogram the "best live act" award for the year. Jorjette and I were able to catch them at the 9:30 Club this past fall and they brought about as much punch as possible. The lights were all over the place. The band was wholly dedicated to their performance. I first heard Phantogram four years ago when they opened for The Antlers. Moving from a keyboard/guitar/vocals and strobe light to where they are now is just fantastic. Good for them.

9. Beck - Morning Phase
I've always been a half-hearted listener of Beck. Very late in the game, I got into his 1990's album, Odelay, and I've given his last few albums a few spins on Spotify. With it being a slower year for music, I decided to give Morning Phase a deeper listen than his other albums and I'm glad I did. A slower album of his, there are plenty of beautiful cuts. And true to its name, the album is great in the morning: I found myself listening to it while walking across campus and driving by myself and found the album to be a perfect album for early in the day. Lastly, we caught Beck in concert this summer and, well, he's still got it.

8. Childish Gambino - Because the Internet

I originally had a hard time getting into Childish's music and it was a slow appreciation with Because the Internet, Gambino's second full release. He's not generally respected by critics. Rap music's origins stem from the oppressed black narrative, giving the genre a grittiness and level of authenticity greater than many others and, well, Donald Glover (Gambino's non-stage name) had a fairly stable upbringing, attended NYU's writing program, and had a lot of success in TV writing and acting prior to his rap career. Basically, he doesn't fit the rap mold. But I think rap music is at a new place. White guys can rap about materialism and the acceptance of the LGBTQ community. And we're ready for a black guy with a lot of formal education to write nerd rap lyrics and be all feely-introspective on an album. Oh, and the album is really good. Part smart-rap, part Frank Ocean smoothness.

7. The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
Another band I've been a half-hearted listener of over the last 7-8 years despite solid releases over a long career. But this album just gets it. Opening title track is probably my favorite opener of the year and the rest of the album follows suit.

6. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
Did anyone even know who this band was prior to this year? Philadelphia based and sounding like Springsteen, these guys created one great blue-collar record. The album grew on me over the year to become one of my favorites. Check them out and then check them out again if you're not immediately pulled in.

5. Spoon - They Want My Soul
Blah blah blah, old-timers who do solid rock music. This album is fresh. Great use of key boards. Great riffs. My only complaint would be that the lyrical content is mostly applicable to people on the road traveling and creating music... not so much asking questions that could be generalized for the common person. That complaint out of the way, this one is great.

4. Beyonce - s/t
Easily the most listened to album of the year, this CD stayed in our car radio from Christmas to March. Beyonce has always been pretty incredible. 4 was full of pop gems (Party, Countdown) and beautiful ballads (1+1) and her previous albums did the same to some extent. But Beyonce's self-titled release took the country by storm. Full of sexy songs (Drunk in Love, Partition), great pop hits (XO), and strong female tracks (Flawless, Pretty Hurts). Incredible live performance with Jay-Z and overall the most deservedly talked-about artists from the year. Here's to Queen Bey.

3. alt-J - This Could All Be Yours
So much anticipation for these guys. While not universally loved by critics and fans, I thought this was a great sophomore release for these young Brit rockers. What set alt-J apart with their first album was a unique sound all their own while sticking to the basic four-piece band setup. New sound but not unrecognizable. I believe This Could All Be Yours moves the band further along, taking risks but not to the point of a complete overhaul. So I'm all about the twang of Left Hand Free, the Miley sample on Hunger of the Pine, and the intricate vocals on Warm Foothills. Keep it up!

2. Ages and Ages - Divisionary
Earlier this year, I saw a list published on Paste Magazine's website citing Divisionary's closing track, Divisionary (Do the Right Thing) as their top song of the year thus far. I checked out the band and instantly fell into their folksy grasp. While not necessarily ground breaking in their sound, they do the folk, choral pop perfectly. They collectively sing about being morally upright without sounding naive. They sing with passion and conviction. They sang songs I felt good about putting on repeat listens.

1. Sylvan Esso - s/t
This beautiful electronic duo is composed of singer Amelia Meath (of Mountain Man) and producer Nick Sanborn (of Megafaun). In trying to describe them to my RA staff, I had a running joke of describing "this band that's a side-project of two bands you've never heard of" followed by the qualifier, "I couldn't sound more pretentious." Thankfully, Sylvan Esso is the exact opposite of pretension. Jorjette and I had a chance to catch them live and their stage presence was that of pure enthusiasm and joy in their art. If you haven't heard much of them, they create some really solid beats with the sweetest (yet strong!) female voice. They play off that paradox well and it results in an album suited for many settings. It's great for the following settings: the morning, grooving in the car, background at a party, foreground at a party, headphones on, and, probably other places as well.


As always, it's been fun making a list. Leave your thoughts if you're into that sort of thing.

Best Albums of 2014 (Albums 20-11)

My music-loving friends and I had many a conversation this year in regards to how it was a "slow year." It seems we all kept waiting for that life-changing album to surprise us and, while there were some solid albums released, the life-changer never arrived. Certainly the top few will withstand the test of time despite the bands' freshness and certainly the releases from tried and true artists (Spoon, Beck, and The New Pornographers) will be stand outs in their large catalogs.

But I suppose that's how music releases go; we can't always have as heavy hitting a year as 2013. So why make a list on a slower year? Or, why make lists of music releases at all? Well, I mostly view it as a way to celebrate and share the creative outputs of the last year even if ranking them is a flawed system.

It should be noted that the top spot was a fairly easy pick for me this year and I added a few late 2013 releases because, well, I listened to them a lot. All qualifiers out of the way, enjoy my list of my favorite 20 albums from 2014!

20. SOHN - Tremors
I don't have much context for this artist but I kept coming back to this album during my office hours. Chock full of reverb and electronic beats, I'll be keeping my ears peeled for more SOHN music in the future.

19. Vacationer - Relief
I was introduced to Vacationer at one of my first B-Sides concerts here on Messiah College's campus a few years back. A few albums later, they've still got beach vibes galore.

18. Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Sun
Certainly Jurado's most other-wordly album, Eternal Sun is a great addition to the Jurado catalog that spans back a decade or so of solid releases.

17. Azealia Banks - Broke with Expensive Taste
While Iggy dominated the radio charts (ugh) and Nicki Minaj released a solid album late in the year, Banks brought us the most worldly, interesting rap album of the year, Kudos for some legit female rap albums this year.

16. Chad VanGaalen - Shrink Dust
Another newbie (to me) on the list, VanGaalen has created some of the most bizarre sounds while maintaining the singular artist/creator persona.

15. Tennis - Ritual in Repeat
This husband/wife duo provides a fantastic sound. Lead vocals are smooth yet full and the backing music is straight forward without being overly simple.

14. Ray Lamontagne - Supernova
A welcomed divergence from his tried and true soulful, bluegrass sound, Supernova is a fantastic exploration into new areas, including some great psychedelic influences. If you've been growing tired of Ray, this one might bring you back.

13. Sam Smith - In the Lonely Hour
Breaking onto the scene by lending vocals to Disclosure's Latch a year or so back, Smith came with high expectations. His lead single, Stay With Me, was powerful and heartfelt and the follow-up, Money on my Mind, proved Smith was still capable of creating a strong pop track. The remainder of the album provides some hits and misses but was also one of my most-listened to of the year.

12. Coldplay - Ghost Stories
Coldplay definitely isn't in their glory days but they also continue to produce some decent music. While Ghost Stories had a Bon Iver knock-off and a few other appropriated tracks, the album, as a whole, was a welcome listen.

11. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
This Swedish duo brings delightful harmonies and a throwback sound that is impossible to dislike. Great sophomore album for these ladies.


Thanks for reading! Albums 10-1 can be found here.

Best Songs of 2014

End of the year lists. So arbitrary yet so fun. Throughout the year I've kept a folder on Spotify of some of my favorite songs from the year. Over the last few weeks I've done some minimal editing, adding a few forgotten tracks and taking out a few that didn't really belong there. As for specifications, the single or album had to have been released in 2014 (...or late 2013) and I didn't include more than two tracks from any single artist or band. While there's a lot of cross over with my "Best Albums" lists (coming soon), there's also a smattering of obscure bands' tracks and some top-40 gems of which I haven't bought into the full album. So here are some of my favorite tracks from the year. Excluding the Bon Iver and Taylor Swift tracks, the playlist can be found on Spotify.

36. Tune-Yards - Water Fountain
35. Damien Jurado - Silver Timothy
34. Jack White - High Ball Stepper
33. Caribou - Can't Do Without You
32. alt-J - Hunger of the Pine
31. Sam Smith - Stay With Me
30. How to Dress Well - See You Fall
29. Sun Kill Moon - I Watched the Film the Song Remains the Same

28. Ages and Ages - Our Demons

27. Conor Oberst - Governor's Ball
26. Beck - Morning
25. Phantogram - Black Out Days
24. Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat
23. The Antlers - Hotel
22. Coldplay - Another's Arms
21. Kishi Bashi - Q&A
20. Chad VanGaalen - Where Are You?
19. Childish Gambino - 3005
18. Hozier - Take Me to Church
17. Nicki Minaj - Pills N Potions
16. Bon Iver - Heavenly Father
15. Sylvan Esso - Could I Be
14. Beyonce - Ring Off
13. Sufjan Stevens - A Little Lost
12. Taylor Swift - Shake it Off
11. The War on Drugs - Red Eyes
10. Childish Gambino - III. Telegraph Ave. ("Oakland" by Lloyd)
9. Warm Foothills - alt-J
8. The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
7. Real Estate - Talking Backwards
6. Spoon - Do You
5. Sam Smith - Money On My Mind
4. Beyonce - Drunk in Love
3. Sylvan Esso - Coffee
2. Kendrick Lamar - i
1. Ages and Ages - Divisionary (Do the Right Thing)

(Un)Clear Narratives

Everything isn't as clear as it seems. And, well, sometimes everything seems pretty clear.

Over the last few days, I've been reading Bryan Stevenson's book, Just Mercy. Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and a professor of clinical law at NYU. He works for the fair treatment of people of color and the poor, specifically those on death row. The book gives a good explanation of what his organization does, the context of doing said work in Montgomery, AL,, and some of the roadblocks they often come up against. More than that, the book uses a story of a man who was convicted of murder and put on death row in an obviously botched trial with all sorts of corruption at play. I'm only half-way through the book but I can go ahead and recommend it as a good read. Thus far, it has been disheartening to see the systematic injustices that have been and still are in effect - the particular case explored in the book happened in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

 

As I continue to read Just Mercy, I reflect on the other dominant narratives in our culture this year, true life or otherwise. The book version of Gone Girl easily gets my "favorite novel read in 2014" award and the movie captivated audiences all over as well. For those unfamiliar, the fictional story revolves around the disappearance of a woman (Amy) and the suspected guilt of her husband (Nick). The narration comes from both Amy and Nick's perspective, jumping back and forth in time. While I contend that the crux of the story is the marriage between Nick and Amy, the relationship is explored via murder mystery, leaving the reader/watcher unsure of who and what to trust from start to finish. The second major phenomenon of captivating narrative would be NPR's Serial, the 12 episode podcast about a true life murder case from 1999 in which an 18 year old high school student from Maryland goes missing, is later found dead, and then her ex-boyfriend is convicted of the murder. The episodes - well, the last one airs this week - explore the case from every angle imaginable. We get reports from close friends, from law experts, from the ex-boyfriend himself. From my perspective, the major take-away is not necessarily that he did it or he didn't do it but rather that, sometimes, I may not know who did it.

This leads me to the events that have been happening in Ferguson and NYC and Cleveland and, well, all over. There are as many opinions as there are people when it comes to these incidents of police brutality (or if one considers them brutality at all). It would be easy for my white, suburban raised self to cite these as isolated incidents that don't reflect the "true" nature of our justice system; that, for most people, justice is guaranteed and provided. But then I see the stats of unarmed, African-American men and boys who have been killed by police and suddenly things aren't quite so clear.* And, if the other narratives I've been consuming this year have been teaching me anything, perhaps each of these cases aren't as clear as I'd like for them to be. That then puts the burden on me (read: all of us) to expose myself to a diversity of stories. I'm going to listen when the underrepresented students and colleagues with whom I work share stories of feeling unsafe in situations where I don't give a second thought. I'm going to cheer on and encourage those protesting in NYC as they fight to have their voices heard. Ultimately, I hope we all take the time to go out of our way to hear peoples' stories, and specifically those that are not in places of power.


*I want to be clear that there are certainly many fantastic, sacrificial, fair, justice-oriented police officers out there and they make up the majority of the force. I'm more concerned about systems we have in place (or don't have in place) that provide a check for police officers as they engage people of color. Without some of these checks, I fear the cultivation of a culture among certain police officers that ignores the fair treatment of underprivileged people.